Where Do People Still Hunt Whales?

December 3, 2015 7:15 AM EST

NORWAY

Respected the IWC ban until 1993, then used a loophole to declare itself exempt. Oslo has since lifted its annual kill quota from 425 in 1996 to over 1,200 today, though fishermen usually catch only half that many.

GREENLAND

Has historically been given permission for its native Inuit to hunt whales for subsistence needs, currently set at 207 kills per year. Critics say the quota is too high, so the surplus will continue to be sold commercially and to tourists.

ICELAND

Declared itself exempt from the IWC moratorium in 2004. Iceland’s quota allows for the export of 154 endangered fin whales to Japan–though demand for the meat is scarce–and over 200 minke whales for domestic consumption.

ALASKA

Indigenous peoples living along Alaska’s coast have been hunting bowhead whales for thousands of years. The Alaskan natives were set an overall quota of 306 bowheads from 2013 to 2018; catches are shared among the whole community.

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